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Window Seat

Tulsa → Las Vegas

TUL–LAS · Tulsa International Airport to Harry Reid International Airport

Best bet

Left side

Slight edgeEnough to break a tie, not enough to change seats over.

It is close. The left edges it, mostly on Grand Canyon, but the right is not a bad seat.

Flight paths move around. Treat this as the better bet, not a promise.

What you might see

In flight order, with distance measured from the representative route.

TUL to LAS: where each landmark sits relative to the routeA diagram of the representative route running left to right, with the departure airport at the left and the arrival airport at the right. Landmarks on the left side of the aircraft are plotted above the route line and landmarks on the right side below it, each at its distance from the route. The numbered list below this diagram carries the same information as text.TULLASLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 41 miles); the shaded ends are the 40-mile zones around each airport where the runway in use decides the view. Numbers match the list below. Hollow markers didn't count toward the recommendation.

  1. Rio Grande Gorge

    Either sideHalfway4 mi off the route

    Rio Grande Gorge passes almost directly beneath around the halfway mark, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  2. Shiprock

    RightThree quarters16 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Shiprock sits roughly 16 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  3. Canyon de Chelly

    LeftThree quarters20 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Canyon de Chelly, about 20 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Monument Valley

    RightThree quarters39 mi off the route

    Monument Valley is about 39 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    Distant possibility

  5. Lake Powell

    RightThree quarters41 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Lake Powell sits roughly 41 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. Grand Canyon

    LeftThree quarters15 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Grand Canyon, about 15 miles out.

    Strong candidate

  7. Lake Mead

    Either sideNear the end7 mi off the route

    Lake Mead passes almost directly beneath late in the flight, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

The sun

Flying soon? Add your date and departure time and we'll work out where the sun should be, and which side gets less of it.

Airport codes or city names. SEA, Seattle, and Seattle-Tacoma all work.

Skip the date and you still get the landmark answer. Add it and we work out where the sun will be, using the departure airport's local time.

The route we used

1,073 mi
Great-circle distance
275°
Course out of TUL
264°
Course into LAS
5
Landmarks that counted

That is the shortest path between the two airports, used as a representative corridor rather than a flight plan. The first and last 40 miles are treated as uncertain, because that part of the flight is shaped by the runway in use and the published departure or arrival procedure. Anything in those zones is listed and marked, never counted toward the recommendation.

Left and right, from where?

Left and right are from your perspective sitting in the cabin, facing the front of the aircraft. Seat letters are not a reliable guide to which side you are on, because aircraft are configured differently.

Why this isn't guaranteed

Flights don't follow the same path every day. Runway configuration, weather deviations, traffic, and air traffic control all move the track around, and none of it is knowable in advance. We also have nothing to say about cloud cover, which is the other thing standing between you and Mount Rainier. The full method.

Flying the other way?

Las Vegas → TulsaRight side

Calculated from scratch, not by flipping this one. The landmarks arrive in the opposite order, the sun is somewhere else entirely, and the answer changes with them.

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